


Sweet as Maple

by softdante



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Bakery Employee Ginny, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Tattoo Artist Luna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 20:10:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softdante/pseuds/softdante
Summary: Ginny enters the parlor for a tattoo and comes out with a crush instead. (tattoo artist Luna and bakery employee Ginny)





	Sweet as Maple

**Author's Note:**

> all i have to say is linny shouldve been canon n i was fucking robbed. also i love these gfs <3

"I'm here to get a tattoo," Ginny says, laying her palms flat on the counter.

The girl with the long hair turns around, and Ginny finds herself thrown off by her eyes. Not blue,  _silver._ She's never seen anyone with silver eyes before. Her brown skin only makes them more enticing. She smiles, and a hint of a dimple shows on her left cheek. "That's generally why people come here. May I see an ID?"

Ginny pulls out the prepared card from her pocket and slides it across the counter. "I thought my grey hairs would be proof enough," she jokes.

"They must be lost among all the red," the blonde tilts her head as she gives the card back. "So, Ginny, do you know what you want?"

"No, not really," Ginny smiles sheepishly.

The pretty girl turns back around and pulls out a couple binders. "That's alright," she says softly, and Ginny thinks her voice might just naturally sound like that. "Go through these, and I'll be back in a minute. If you can't find one you like, we have more outback."

Ginny murmurs a  _thank you_ and plops down onto one of the seats in front of the counter.

True to her word, the girl is by her side again in no time. "Any inspiration?" she asks, sitting across from her.

"I don't know," Ginny frowns. "Maybe I, you know, make a decision quicker if I knew how this whole thing worked."

"I can see you're very excited about this," she lets out a breathy laugh. "Alright, I'm Luna. I'll be with you throughout the process, if that's fine by you."

 _Her name's so pretty,_ Ginny thinks to herself.  _She's so pretty._  She tells herself to focus. Now is not the time to turn into a bisexual mess. She nods with a grin. "More than fine by me."

That earns her another smile, and Ginny's back straightens. Luna continues, "Normally my father talks to clients and I do the actual tattooing, but he's out of town, so it's just me. Right now, we can choose a tattoo, a size, and where you want it, and then we can negotiate the price, and you can book an appointment if you're sure you want to go through with it. I'll explain the process a bit more when the time actually comes."

Ginny nods along. "I'm thinking, maybe, a horizontal one right under my left boob for the aesthetic, you know."

"You'd be surprised how many times I hear  _for the aesthetic_ in a day," Luna shakes her head, amused, but there was no judgement in her tone. Though Ginny only just met her, she doesn't think Luna's the judgmental type. "Maybe you'd like a quote or some lyrics. I do a lot of flowers too. Ocean waves, as well." At that, she looks up from the binder and at Ginny. "People often think tattoos have to mean something, but that's not necessary. Having  _anything_ permanently tattooed into your skin makes it art."

"Like your skin is a canvas?"

Luna smiles. "Yes. Like your skin is a canvas."

They go through the pages together for some time, and Ginny eventually picks a dagger with a rose wrapped around it. "For the aesthetic," she winks.

Luna looks down at her hands. "And your appointment? When are you free?"

"Oh," Ginny waves her hand. "As soon as possible. I don't want to chicken out."

Luna pulls her phone out and scrolls down a little. "How about... Thursday afternoon?"

Ginny wilts at having to wait another five days before seeing her again, but agrees. She pays fifty pounds upfront, and Luna says she can pay the rest after the whole thing is done and over with.

 

* * *

 

The days go by too slowly for Ginny's liking, and when she's not working her ass off during the day, she finds herself zoning out with thoughts of silver eyes and an endearing smile. It's not a crush, not really. She doesn't know Luna enough for it to become anything but a fascination, but that doesn't stop her from daydreaming about her whenever possible.

The day comes, and Ginny knows she's too excited. Not about the tattoo, either.

This time, though, there's a rugged looking man at the desk instead of an ethereal woman. "Hello," Ginny says when the man doesn't pay her any attention.

His head turns up slowly, and his eyes don't exactly focus on her. "How may I help you?"

She grins at him, figuring he's Luna's dad. "I have an appointment?"

He smiles back at her and leads her through the back. She almost swoons at the first sight of Luna. "Sweetheart, your two-thirty is here."

"Ginny." Luna beams and ushers her into the seat on the right.  _She remembered my name,_ Ginny thinks giddily. "You didn't chicken out." She almost had, but she hadn't wanted to miss out on seeing Luna again. A bad reason for bravery, probably, but it got her here, at least.

"I made a bet with my older brothers," she explains. "And them winning would only be over my dead body."

Luna pulls the curtain to cover up the station and starts preparing whatever it is she's gonna use. "And no one's here with you? Most people bring friends or family for moral support."

"Letting people see me in pain? Also, over my dead body," Ginny snorts, and Luna's eyebrows fly up in amusement.

"I'd offer to hold your hand myself, but mine's gonna be kind of busy," Luna says, and Ginny hopes she thinks the pink on her cheeks is from the cold. "Are you still on board with the same design? Same place?"

Ginny nods.

 

* * *

 

The process hadn't hurt as much as she'd expected. In all honestly, the hardest part was remaining calm with Luna's left hand flat and steadying on Ginny's stomach and her right hand so close to her breast. In hopes of seeing her again, Ginny had given her the address of her family's bakery and told her to stop by and grab a bite on the house.

Now, she stands behind the counter a week later, leaning on the marble and huffing. Her fault for being so hung up on a probably straight girl. Maybe she should've asked for her number instead.

Her back straightens when the bell rings, indicating someone had entered. She sees the mess of black hair and goes back to sulking. "It's just you," she rolls her eyes at Harry.

"Just me?" He laughs. "Ouch."

"I mean, it  _is_ kind of disappointing getting you instead of the pretty girl," she reasons. That's what the trio and her family had been calling Luna, even though she'd already them her name. All because Ginny had collapsed onto the couch after her first visit to the tattoo parlor and declared that she was in love with the pretty girl working there.

"Maybe you gave her the wrong address?" Harry scratches the back of his head, trying to be nice about it.

"I've been working here my entire life. And no one would make that mistake other than you."

Harry frowns. "It was  _one time."_

"One time too many."

The bell rings again, but Ginny doesn't pay it any attention as she listens to Harry try to defend himself. A flash of blonde hair behind him, though, has Ginny immediately leaning over the counter and pushing Harry out of the way with a quick, "Harry, move."

"You," Harry points at her as he regains his balance. "Are meaner than usua..." he trails off as his eyes focus on Luna. It probably downs on him, and he grins ever so embarrassingly at Ginny, winking, which is even more humiliating for the both of them because Harry does not know how to wink.

"Bye, Harry," Ginny says pointedly with the most lethal glare she can muster, and it sends him running upstairs where the Weasley's living room is.

Luna smiles and steps forward, placing her hands near Ginny's, which of course then gives her heart palpitations. "Your friend seems nice."

"He is. Bit of a dumbass too," she ducks her chin with a laugh. Luna hums lightly and runs her eyes over the displays. "Oh, sorry. I'm being totally unprofessional. What can I get you, miss?"

"What would my favorite customer recommend?" Luna blinks her silver eyes at her, and Ginny tries not to turn into a spluttering mess. Why do beautiful women always do this to her.

"Oh," Ginny sweeps her eyes over all the desserts. "What flavors do you like?"

Luna gives her another swoon-worthy smile. "Everything. Surprise me."

Ginny's mouth suddenly feels dry, and she nods while Luna takes a seat near the window. "Give me one minute," she calls as she runs up the stairs. "Not even a minute. 30 seconds."

She finds Ron and Harry sitting on the couch and drags them both by their ears, ignoring their various  _Ow, ow, ow_ 's and  _Ginny, what are you doing_ 's. "You guys are on register duty."

"A simple please would've been fine," Ron whines as he's pulled down the stairs.

With the two boys complaining and a plate with a brownie cheesecake and a cherry scone, she tries not to look too fussy when walking towards Luna. "Our most popular desserts for  _my_ favorite customer."

She slides into the chair across from her, and Luna beams. Her smile falters a little a second later, though. "Is it okay for you to keep me company? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your boss."

Ginny laughs and picks up a fork. "My boss is my mom, so yeah, I think it's alright."

Luna's eyes light up. "Is this a family business?"

"It is," Ginny says eagerly, savoring the way her smile looks. "We live right upstairs."

"That's lovely. And what is it that you do?"

"Mostly cake decorating. Frosting, fondant, modeling chocolate. My brothers are awful at that sorta thing," Ginny explains, and unlike most people, Luna actually looks interested. "Like... see all those cakes on display? My brothers do the baking, mostly, and I cover them with whatever the customer wants."

Luna takes a long look at the cakes Ginny gestured at and says, "You never told me you're an artist."

Ginny hopes the heat rushing to her face doesn't make it turn bright red. "I wouldn't call myself an artist."

"I would," Luna insists, reaching across the table and squeezing Ginny's hands. "They're beautiful." Ginny thinks she might start whimpering.

"You're beautiful," Ginny mumbles involuntarily.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"What? Nothing. You should really try the cherry scone while it's hot and crispy."

Luna takes a bite and makes a sound that has Ginny choking on her own saliva. "This is really good."

"Yeah?" she grins.

"Yeah," Luna grins back. 

 

* * *

 

Luna starts coming around everyday before going to the tattoo parlor. Ginny takes the morning shift as an excuse to see her, even if it's only to pour her coffee and talk to her for five minutes. This, of course, gets her more teasing and jokes from her family than she can handle.

A few weeks after their newly established routine, when Luna picks up her coffee and the day's choice of breakfast (chocolate croissant), Ginny accidentally calls "Bye, babe," as she leaves.

They both stop at the nickname, and because Luna has her back to Ginny, she can't see her reaction. And so for a solid two seconds, Ginny's brain just goes,  _Oh, dear fucking god, I've fucked this up. I really fucked this up. The one person I can actually tolerate at nine in the morning. Wow. I haven't even been awake for a full thirty minutes, and I've already messed up. I'm not keeping track or anything, but this must be a new record._

But then, the most wonderful thing imaginable happens. Luna turns around with the softest smile Ginny has ever seen and walks towards her. She leans over the counter and lays her palm on Ginny's right cheek, holding her in place as she places a gentle kiss on her left one. "See you tomorrow, love. Save me a cinnamon roll."

Ginny smiles like an idiot at the door for ten continuous minutes after Luna walks out. 

 

* * *

 

"You're doing it wrong," Ginny laughs from where she's sitting on the table.

"How am I doing it wrong?" Luna gapes at her. "I'm only stirring the batter."

Her family is at the movies, and it's her turn to do the baking. Hermione had offered to stay with her and help out, but Ginny had immediately exclaimed no, which earned her an exchange of glances between her brothers. Of course, she'd invite Luna over.

Luna's mentioned recently that her mother had passed away just before she could teach her how to bake, and she hasn't tried on her own.

Ginny pushes herself closer to Luna and takes the bowl into her own hands. "Well," she says. "First of all, you don't need to grip it so hard. I think your hands are starting to cramp up." Luna smiles and ducks her chin, suddenly shy. Ginny nudges her thigh with her foot and continues, "And you need to  _fold,_ not stir, because you don't want the mixture to deflate too much. Otherwise your biscuits have, like, huge air bubbles in them, and we don't want that."

Still smiling, Luna listens to Ginny's explanation as she shows her the proper way to fold in the ingredients. "We certainly do not."

"Don't tease, Luna," Ginny says with no heat.

"I'm not teasing," Luna pokes the side of her thigh with her index finger. "That's your thing."

"My  _thing_?" Ginny quirks a brow.

"Yes. Like... baking, and flirting, and fondly bullying the people you love, and playing music too loudly in the car, and rambling, and lying about not liking hugs, and always winning at video games, and having freckles everywhere. Things like that."

Ginny blushes beet red and keeps her eyes on the batter. "I don't like hugs."

Luna beams. "Proving me right, I see."

"Okay fine," Ginny pours the batter into a piping bag and starts squeezing small circles onto a silicone mat. "What's your thing?"

"You tell me," Luna pulls herself up on the table besides the taller girl, trying to discretely sneak herself a cupcake.

"I see you, but I'm not gonna say anything because that's also my thing. Being a wonderful friend." She says it as a joke, but Luna eagerly nods, anyway. Ginny smiles and thinks back to her previous words. "Your thing... uh, art? Owning too many light colored sweaters. Talking to strangers as if you've known them your entire life. Reading the same books over and over again. Humming. Affection. I wanna say smiling, but I feel like that's too general. Always taking the long route to anywhere because you like car rides."

Luna's fingers brush against Ginny's on the table. "I do like car rides. I also like spending time with you."

"You do?" Ginny mumbles incoherently, but Luna understands anyway.

"I thought it was obvious." She pushes her fingers between Ginny's. "I'm here every morning. I come back after work most days. If I have days off, I spend them with you."

"It's not for the free coffee?" Ginny asks weakly.

Luna leans forward and kisses her on the mouth. It's open-mouthed and sweet and tender and warm, and Ginny has kissed a lot of people, but never like this. Never had it affected her so much that she felt like her heart might be climbing up her throat. Luna pulls away, but Ginny isn't ready to let her go yet. She reaches up, tucks a strand of hair that's escaped Luna's messy bun behind her ear, and kisses her again. And again. And then a couple— few more times.

Luna smiles, and seeing how beautiful she is hurts more than getting the tattoo did. "No, yeah, it's definitely for the free coffee."


End file.
